I was wondering what the best way to monetize my blog is.. It gains little but consistent traffic on a daily basis.

To give you a little background information, I make tutorial videos on YouTube for various pieces of different software and then I "document" each tutorial on my blog by making a post and I put the link in the description of the video. So if the tutorial requires them to download any files or what not, they have to go to my blog to get the files etc.. My blog is starting to average around 11-12k unique visitors per month (according to Google Aanalytics).

[Bit of a side note, although I link my blog posts in the videos... most of my blog traffic comes from Google and basic SEO]

I'm currently using Adsense on my blog and I've got my videos monetized on YouTube, that's my main method of bringing in the $$$. Lately I've been making about $20-$25 per month from YouTube views/monetization and about $15-$20 per month from Adsense adverts which I've got around my blog.. So in total I make anywhere between $20-$35 per month and then after 3 or 4 months I reach the $100 minimum I'm able to withdraw my money. I've also got a wordpress plugin installed on my blog called "Social Locker" which forces people to "like" my Facebook page before they get a download link... I figure it cant hurt to build up a Facebook page for advertisement purposes in the future.. I totally recommend this plugin, I've gained like 1000+ "likes" within 3 weeks of setting the page up.

Could I be doing anything better? [obviously the answer is always yes] ... I've recently tried masking my download links with shorte.st but they pay so little (like 10c per 50 clicks) and for the amount of traffic I get its not really worth it.. I've also tried using cleanfiles.net to content lock my downloads but as soon as people see surveys these days they automatically assume its not genuine and tend not to complete them (since most require they input their mobile number)... Anyway after I tried cleanfiles, I lost a lot of traffic, people rated my videos down and left comments saying I was trying to "scam them to make money"... I want to stay "legit" but I also want to move up the ladder and make more.. I'm willing to put in the effort, I'm just in a bit of a stalemate and need some direction.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your ideas and suggestions!! I love this forum!

Seems like you have the content & the knowledge in your niche which is the first step to success. My first guess by reading your post would be to publish amazon ads, guests posts, affiliate programs etc etc. You have to look what else is done in this niche and copy them.

12K unique a month in a specific niche is a good amount to start making money, but you'll have to think about what your visitors want.
Basically, you need to find the specific line that define what people are ready to do for your content. It's vague I know but it's a variable that each niche has.

For example, you know that they wouldn't fill a CPA offer (maybe you didnt picked the good one, or you didnt worded it good on your site), but they are ready to like/share to access your content.

I don't know which software it is, but what I would do first would be creating a mailing list with mailchimp to gather emails. Either offer them to email the new video/content you publish, or force them to give you the email so that they can receive the content they're looking for. Email is gold. Find similar software in your niche and make a deal with the publisher to get percentage on sale, send an email and voila !

That's just an idea but I'm sure if you adapt your mindset and see your visitors as possible consumer/customer, then you're good to make money

Seems like you have the content & the knowledge in your niche which is the first step to success. My first guess by reading your post would be to publish amazon ads, guests posts, affiliate programs etc etc. You have to look what else is done in this niche and copy them.

12K unique a month in a specific niche is a good amount to start making money, but you'll have to think about what your visitors want.
Basically, you need to find the specific line that define what people are ready to do for your content. It's vague I know but it's a variable that each niche has.

For example, you know that they wouldn't fill a CPA offer (maybe you didnt picked the good one, or you didnt worded it good on your site), but they are ready to like/share to access your content.

I don't know which software it is, but what I would do first would be creating a mailing list with mailchimp to gather emails. Either offer them to email the new video/content you publish, or force them to give you the email so that they can receive the content they're looking for. Email is gold. Find similar software in your niche and make a deal with the publisher to get percentage on sale, send an email and voila !

That's just an idea but I'm sure if you adapt your mindset and see your visitors as possible consumer/customer, then you're good to make money

As usual, totally off topic.

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he wants to monetize his blog, throw some adsense on it, get some good keywords to bring high cpc

Seems like you have the content & the knowledge in your niche which is the first step to success. My first guess by reading your post would be to publish amazon ads, guests posts, affiliate programs etc etc. You have to look what else is done in this niche and copy them.

12K unique a month in a specific niche is a good amount to start making money, but you'll have to think about what your visitors want.
Basically, you need to find the specific line that define what people are ready to do for your content. It's vague I know but it's a variable that each niche has.

For example, you know that they wouldn't fill a CPA offer (maybe you didnt picked the good one, or you didnt worded it good on your site), but they are ready to like/share to access your content.

I don't know which software it is, but what I would do first would be creating a mailing list with mailchimp to gather emails. Either offer them to email the new video/content you publish, or force them to give you the email so that they can receive the content they're looking for. Email is gold. Find similar software in your niche and make a deal with the publisher to get percentage on sale, send an email and voila !

That's just an idea but I'm sure if you adapt your mindset and see your visitors as possible consumer/customer, then you're good to make money

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply! I found this very informative

I started with CPA offers but people just complained that the files weren't unlocking after they completed the survey 5 times over. Then there were times when I felt like I wasn't getting money from people completing them; Then the accusations and loss of traffic started. It was at that point I figured that CPA wasn't the route for my niche.

If I was to build an email list what would I do with it? I imagine if I use some kind of content locker to force them to give me an email before they can download, most would just use a fake or disposable email... Hence why I went down the FB "likes" path.

I'm lucky because the niche I'm making tutorials on is forever coming up with new addons and plugins so I'll forever have content and reviews to make. I was thinking about also doing product reviews for amazon affiliate but now with all this "tax" stuff im unsure how to properly sign up (since I'm located in Australia).

he wants to monetize his blog, throw some adsense on it, get some good keywords to bring high cpc

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I have Adsense on my blog as it is (not sure if you read my original post).. Adsense and YouTube monetization is currently my main and only source of income at the moment. As for getting a high CPC I was reading tutorials but it all got very confusing, hence why I'm asking for some help/pointers. Most of the tutorials I was reading were referring to Google Keywords Tool which now doesn't exist and I tried looking for an alternative but all wanted me to pay and I don't have money right now to spend on a keyword service.

he wants to monetize his blog, throw some adsense on it, get some good keywords to bring high cpc

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He has quality content, he has a legit business, why would he fuck up all his content to get irrelevant answer to the needs of his visitors? that would fuck up his SEO too, which is how he gets his main traffic. Stop making uneducated guess.

I started with CPA offers but people just complained that the files weren't unlocking after they completed the survey 5 times over. Then there were times when I felt like I wasn't getting money from people completing them; Then the accusations and loss of traffic started. It was at that point I figured that CPA wasn't the route for my niche.

If I was to build an email list what would I do with it? I imagine if I use some kind of content locker to force them to give me an email before they can download, most would just use a fake or disposable email... Hence why I went down the FB "likes" path.

I'm lucky because the niche I'm making tutorials on is forever coming up with new addons and plugins so I'll forever have content and reviews to make. I was thinking about also doing product reviews for amazon affiliate but now with all this "tax" stuff im unsure how to properly sign up (since I'm located in Australia).

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Delivering your quality content through email is the way to go. If you learn about email marketing/auto responder, you'll see that you can email them automatically the content they are looking for. This take of the content of your site, but with a nice pre-tutorial/pre-template or whatever you're giving them, they should put their real email to make sure they receive your content.

As for what to do with their emails, email is gold and lots of people on this forum can confirm it. Just read some tutorials (I believe the email marketing section will be public soon/is public). As advised, partnership with software seller is a good start. Possibilities are endless.

I have another question regarding Adsense.. I found from doing a quick Google search that you are only allowed a maximum of 3 adverts per page.. However I was just looking on a popular techblog and noticed they have at-least 5. Am I missing something?

He has quality content, he has a legit business, why would he fuck up all his content to get irrelevant answer to the needs of his visitors? that would fuck up his SEO too, which is how he gets his main traffic. Stop making uneducated guess.

.

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Actually his SEO would be optizmized throught he roi of ctr, i dont know what ur talking about, you have no knowledge of money making, y r u even here

Thanks to all the replies... I'm def taking your comments on-board.. I just done a full redesign of my blog/website and have re-positioned the Adverts.. I have taken a screen shot of my site (I have blurred it out, apart from the placement of my adverts to prove I'm not trying to advertise), if anyone could provide some feedback that would be great!!

I have used a combination of both Adsense and Amazon affiliate... I looked at other blogs and how they positioned there adverts and tried to implement a similar style. -- Other ideas are also welcome

I'm currently taking a course on email marketing: The teacher emails his list two times a day with engaging exciting content, within the first 60 days he filters in 130 purchase opportunities (of which he either owns or is an affiliate of)

^Because your audience is small I wouldn't be trying to do a ppc campaign if I were you. Try adding a popup optin and build up an email list

I'm currently taking a course on email marketing: The teacher emails his list two times a day with engaging exciting content, within the first 60 days he filters in 130 purchase opportunities (of which he either owns or is an affiliate of)

^Because your audience is small I wouldn't be trying to do a ppc campaign if I were you. Try adding a popup optin and build up an email list

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Cheers for the reply! I think the adjustment of adverts have slightly improved my Adsense earnings by an average of $1 or $2... So I guess any kind of improvement is a step in the right direction.

Are you able to suggest a way for me to start a mailing list? Any software (preferably free to start with) ?

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